Disclaimer: I don't own Muv-Luv Alternative or any of the characters. All rights belong to âge.
November 5, 2001
Sitting under the tree at the top of the hill behind the base, I hug Mitsuki close to me with my right arm.
Mitsuki looks at me worriedly. "Are you ready for tomorrow? It's Cheorwon we're talking about."
"Of course, for our future we will have to make it work no matter what." I respond to her.
It's been 6 months since the destruction of the Sadogashima Hive. Losing over sixty percent of our forces, Operation 21st was still considered a major success. After that operation, most of the forces on the Asian front lost almost all their power. Now, all operations were under American command. The worst part is we still had to spearhead all of the operations. For tomorrow's operation, Operation Sledgehammer, us Valkyries still had to lead the charge.
"Promise me you'll come back, unlike Takayuki…" she silently mutters the last bit ,which I barely hear.
"I'll come back, I promise, you'll be there to cover me after all." I smile at her.
Ever since Mitsuki became captain, we've grown much closer. The event that pushed us into pursuing a relationship was when Haruka fell into a coma after our last operation. With us being both Storm Vanguards, each and every outing could be our last. We gently hold each other and spend our time together in preparation for tomorrow…
*Shake* *Shake*
"Mmm… Good morning Kasumi." I groggily rub my eyes and wake up.
"See you later... " Another short conversation, and then she leaves my room. I can tell she hasn't been getting as much sleep because of programming the XM3. I wish I could help her out but I'm not smart enough for coding and programming. The best thing I can do would be to raise everyone's skills as quickly as possible. Still… that dream I had, I had never seen Hayase in such a way before. That scenario piques my interest though, instead of Operation Ouka after Sadogashima, it was Cheorwon… Did the annihilation of the hive lead to such a result? The name Takayuki also… I should ask Yuuko about that…
"For today's training, I'm going with a completely new direction!" I inform the squad. "I'm going to assign each of you roles based on your abilities. I know this is not something you all are supposed to deal with until you get commissioned, but I have faith all of you will be able to adapt." The girls look bewildered.
"So we're going to be practicing like a squadron even though there are only 7 of us?" Class Rep questions.
"It will only be us 6, Marimo-chan has the most experience, so I want her to be on the control tower." I respond.
"Eeh!? How would that work? Wouldn't we be missing some roles?" Mikoto also looks confused.
"Even though it won't be perfect, this will help you all transition quickly when you get commissioned, leading to a higher rate of success in your first outing. Also, it will also make training easier as you will all be streamlined into specific fields instead of trying to learn everything." I try to convince them. "Remember, it will also be easier to improve our teamwork if we have outlined roles in the team."
"Very well, I'm willing to give this a try." Meiya accepted my explanation. After a short amount of time, the others also agreed.
"Okay, listen up!" I order them. "I will be acting as Rush Guard, with code 01. However, when necessary, be prepared to see me leaving my position to cover someone. Treat my role more as a flexible position instead. When Marimo-chan joins our sessions instead of being on the control tower, I would like her to be a Gun Interceptor as call sign 02. Since she will be holding the best position in the squad, as well as her fielding experience, it would be best if she could command the group as well. "
"Next will be Class Rep, with call sign 03, you will be our Gun Sweeper. With your all around shooting abilities, and ability to analyze the field, this middle position will fit you the best. Your weaponry will consist of 4 Type-87 Assault Guns. You will be using 8x36mm magazines and 4x120mm magazines." I explain to her.
"Understood! Thank you sir!" Class Rep salutes.
"Meiya, you will be our Storm Vanguard. Be honored, as our acting front guard, you will be the one to lead our charge. With your skill with a blade and close combat skills, I believe this role will fit you best. Your call sign will be 04, with one Type-87 Assault Gun using 4x36mm and 2x120mm magazines. Instead of shooting, you have 2 Type-74 PB Blades, and 2 Type-65 PB Knives."
"Thank you, Takeru. You truly know what I prefer." She gives me a smile.
"Ayamine, call sign 05, you will be our Strike Vanguard. Right behind Meiya, you will also be nice and up front. Make sure to make full use of your CQC ability. Since you are better than Meiya at shooting and are more flexible in your fighting, this position fits you the best. You will have 2 Type-87 Assault Guns instead of 1. The rest of the weaponry is the same minus the Supplemental Armor the Storm Vanguard will have for being in front."
"...Got it…" Kei makes a mock salute as I can see her small smirk.
"Tama, you will take call sign 06 and be our Impact Guard. With your sniping skills, I'm placing you in the most static position available to take advantage of it. Being in the safest position, you will be geared with a Support Assault Gun along with 12x36mm magazines. Equipped with a scope, your job will be acting as our sharpshooter. Your gear will also have a blade and 2 knives for close combat for any enemies that come near."
"I'll try my best to not disappoint you Takeru-san!" Tama timidly responds.
"Lastly, Mikoto, you will be call sign 07. Being our Blast Guard, you will have the most active role on the squad. Equipped with a Type-92 Autonomous Multi-Purpose Missile System, you will be moving all over the battlefield to wreak havoc. As a result, you only have 1 gun and 2 knives to promote mobility. However, you will have Supplemental Armor to help out.
"You can rely on me, Takeru!" Mikoto excitedly responds.
"Now that we got our roles, we will be running as many simulations as possible to get used to these roles today. Be prepared to be run into the ground!" I warn them as they start shaking.
Practice today went well, clearing from the D rank missions all the way to the end of the C missions. Everyone quickly got used to their roles as they were pretty straightforward. Since we were still on missions involving TSF enemies, procedures and protocols were pretty standard and easy to follow. Class Rep and Kei started up their arguments once again, but were pretty quickly put to a stop. The way to solve their problems was pretty simple. Since their positions were so close to each other, when they had to work together, Kei had command over all close combat situations while Class Rep had command over ranged ones. This took care of their little disputes especially since I held the chain of command. As they couldn't dispute over each other's orders outside of when they had to work together, this system made use of their expertises and gave them both equal amounts of command over each other.
Currently, I was walking to Yuuko's office, wanting to ask her about a few things.
*Slides*
Walking into her office, I see her sipping on some tea and relaxingly looking over her documents. Wide eyed, I instantly voiced my surprise. "Is that tea you're drinking!?"
"Hmm? Oh it's Shirogane… what's so weird about me drinking tea?" she looks at me teasingly.
"In all the times I've interacted with you, I've never seen you drink anything outside of coffee! Who are you and what have you done to Yuuko!" I act out a fearful face.
"I'm just listening to your advice, you told me to get more rest after all. Oh by the way, your squad's TSFs should arrive after Niigata. They took a while since I wanted them fresh and brand new, just for you~" Yuuko answers me with a smirk.
I can't believe it… Yuuko listening to me. Even if it was just to mess with me, this is still something I never expected to happen.
"You just wanted to rip the vinyl off… I already know your weird fetishes…" I sign out and start rubbing my temple.
"Oh…? You know all my fetishes hmm…?" Yuuko starts.
"Okay, Stop! Topic change!" I stop her before she continues. "I came here to ask about something. Is there anything in this database about a soldier named Takayuki?"
"Hmm? Interesting name you brought up… Where did this come from?" She looks intrigued.
"It's from a dream this morning, something that I've never seen before. I want to ask you about it after as well."
"Very well, first thing I will inform you is that he was one of the members of the Special Task Force with the highest causality information." She starts explaining.
"Wait, he's a member of the STF? And he also had high causality information? I've never heard of his name until now." I am very shocked, most of the members of the STF with high causality information I have met either in the other world or once in this loop. But I have never even heard of this guy…
"That is because he died 2 years ago, exactly during Operation Lucifer. If my estimate is correct, he probably died the moment the G Bombs dropped which led to both of your causality information passing by each other and never interacting. Especially since your information was dragged over right after the bombs." Yuuko explains. "Narumi Takayuki was a part of the 7th squadron, code name Dellingr Squadron under Captain Oowada. During Operation Lucifer, the squad was surrounded and command became disorganized, Takayuki and Taira Shinji decided to assault the BETA and buy time for the rest of the forces to escape. This is information from the last remaining survivor of 7th Squadron." She finishes explaining.
"May I ask who that survivor is?"
"Oh you know her, I'm surprised I never told you or you never figured it out. It's Irina." She reveals a shocking fact.
I always just thought of 2nd Lieutenant Pyatkh as just Yuuko's secretary… Every single time I've seen her just doing work for Yuuko I hadn't even considered she used to be a pilot. Let alone one that's a part of the STF.
"What is his relation to Hayase? In the dream I had, she mentioned him and it seemed like they were close."
"Narumi Takayuki, Hayase Mitsuki, Suzumiya Haruka, Suzumiya Akane all lived in the same town before he was conscripted to the UN. It's not a surprise they may have been close before joining the frontlines."
"Hmm, thank you for the information." I'm surprised she's being so forthcoming today, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"So what's the second thing you wanted to talk about?"
"At first, I just thought I was having a vivid dream or two. But it's been almost a week straight that I've been having these dreams. Everytime it feels like I'm reliving a memory over it just being a dream. Each of these dreams have vividly different scenarios as well, this can't be explained as just my vivid imagination right?"
"So your latest dream was about Hayase?" I nod. "Hmm, I guess I'll explain a bit. This is just a speculation and I haven't fully confirmed this theory."
"That's fine. I trust your intelligence, it's much better than anything I can think of anyways." I scratch my head.
"From what I can understand so far, what you've experienced so far stems from strong emotional encounters. Take Hayase for example, because of your showdown last night, it led to you having a dream about her. You are basically a catalyst that resonates with others that share such an encounter with you. What I am guessing is that you are seeing memories, or should I say experiences, from parallel versions of yourself. Each of these 'dreams' you see are different experiences from you of a different world, that is why they feel so vivid. Even I have been receiving some memories that I have never experienced personally as well. Be glad, isn't this what you wanted? After all, the girls in your squad should be getting some of these visions as well."
"Wait, but doesn't this affect the other worlds as well? Like last time, I ended up causing problems to the other world… what's to say it won't happen this time as well?"
"Remember, that is because you were a Causality Conductor. This time you don't have that ability anymore, plus you aren't traveling worlds remember? Though beware that the worlds still try to achieve equilibrium. Since you are now a permanent member of this world, the people that resonate with you may receive some changes. What changes are those, I am not sure yet." Yuuko warns me. I have a feeling she isn't telling me everything, but I probably wouldn't fully understand it either.
"I'll try to keep an eye if any major changes happen then."
"Just a warning though, pretty soon Hayase will figure out your identity from these visions. Good luck avoiding her~" I hadn't considered that, this may be more trouble than I expected.
After visiting Kasumi and Sumika that night, the next few days went by like a blur. Our group had mainly focused on teamwork, with different scenarios and splitting into different Element pairings. We had pretty much become pretty tight-knit as a group and we had a really good atmosphere going on. Between them taking their lectures of TSFs and squad formations in the morning to us doing our training and playing with the consoles in the evening, we spent almost all of our time getting better.
Speaking of time flying, it was already November 10, I am currently walking towards Yuuko's office once more in the evening. I had told the squad that they will be having a day off tomorrow since I was going on a mission. If they wanted to train they could ask Marimo-chan about it. She has pretty much fully fit into the role of being the main command of the group.
*Slides*
"I was about to call you in today as well." Yuuko looks up from her desk, hearing my arrival.
"Going over preparations for tomorrow?" I ask her, seeing piles of documents on top of her desk.
"Of course, though I'm sure you'll make it easier for me right?" She smirks.
"Well, I thought you would be bored, so I brought you a present." I put down two stacks of papers in front of her. "One pile is the thing you've been waiting for this entire time and the other is a bonus."
"Hmm?" She picks up the left pile. Looking through it she widens her eyes. "This is the rest of the theory… I thought you weren't going to give it to me this early."
"Well you have been being nice to me… and you've been listening to my suggestions so…" I scratch my head. "At least with this you'll have something to do while waiting tomorrow."
"Oh I'll have my hands full with this for a while~" She shows a cheerful expression. "So, what's this over here?" She tries reading the other stack with a slightly confused expression.
"This right here is my handwritten manual for combos and guide to the XM3. Utilizing a guide I brought with me, I wrote it in a way that will help pilots understand how I interpret the controls of the new OS. I want you to help me mass produce this so we can push this out along with the XM3, this way a lot more pilots will understand and grasp the new OS faster."
"Hooh? This will be interesting, that's not a problem. I can have this done pretty quickly I'd say."
"So how will I be deployed tomorrow? Obviously I can't deploy with the Valkyries together or else my identity will be easily exposed."
"The Valkyries will be leaving the base at 0600, which will lead to them arriving at the designated location at 0630. I'm planning on having you deploy 5 minutes after them, arriving at 0635. I want you to help capture BETA of all categories, but prioritize keeping the casualties to a minimum."
"Just as a warning, I most likely will not be able to capture any Lux class. First of all it is too risky considering the amount of destruction they can create if they manage to fire off their laser while captured. Second of all, if you were planning on making a virus to destroy them, it's pointless."
"Why is that? That was one of my plans."
"Well, as I told you before, BETA don't treat themselves as living beings. As a result, they don't feel pain and will continue fighting until they are unable to move. The only thing effective would be something that would destroy or incapacitate them within a short amount of time."
"Hmm… I'll keep that in mind."
"How are we going to capture these BETA? I never understood in the past loops."
"We will be using relics of the past, from Alternative II. Back when we had captured BETA to dissect and analyze them, we had created a tranquilizing substance against them. The only problem is it took 5 whole minutes for them to stop moving so we would go back and grab them after the horde would leave. With current technology, we have managed to make bullets with some of said substance, but the effects still take at least 30 seconds. For the bigger kinds, it will take longer of course. It may be necessary for you to distract the ones after they are shot for the substance to take effect."
"Hmm, so in the end it will be risky. I do have the best chance at it I suppose."
"Yes, I'm putting my faith in you." She honestly says as our eyes lock.
"Well, wait for the good news tomorrow."
AN: I'm back! I took the entire week off grid to help get some time for myself~ It definitely helped a lot. This chapter is a bit on the short side, sorry about that! I will be getting back on the writing groove at least. (Sorry if I missed your PMs/Reviews, haven't checked the site since last week)